Country dossier · AUS

Australia

Advanced space-faring nation

A sourced snapshot of Australia's posture in space — capability, institutions, orbital assets, law and people. Every figure carries its primary source; gaps are shown honestly, never filled with invented data.

Open Australia in the interactive workspace →

Capability tier

Advanced space-faring nation

Launches to orbit from its own territory: noLaunch sites on record: 4Nationals who have flown: 3

Source: ALL IN SPACE capability ladder · see methodology

Space agency

Australian Space Agency (ASA)

National space agency · established 2018 · two-source verified

Source: UNOOSA · Worldwide Space Agencies directory

Satellites (owner state)

39

Counted from the GCAT May 2026 snapshot. The interactive workspace shows a live CelesTrak figure, which uses different owner-attribution rules and will differ.

Source: GCAT · General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (J. McDowell) · May 2026 snapshot

Ground stations

22

Source: ALL IN SPACE curated ground-station dataset (operator-sourced)

Space budget

$400M

Emerging spender · 2026 · Australian Space Agency

Source: Australian Space Agency

National strategy

Advancing Space: Australian Civil Space Strategy 2019-2028 (2019)

Four-pillar civil space strategy targeting triple sector growth to AU$12 billion and 20,000 new jobs by 2030

Source: Published national space strategies and policies

International space law

InstrumentStatus
Outer Space Treaty 1967Ratified
Rescue Agreement 1968Ratified
Liability Convention 1972Ratified
Registration Convention 1975Ratified
Moon Agreement 1979Ratified
Artemis Accords 2020Signatory (2020-10-13)

Source: Status of international agreements relating to activities in outer space (1 January 2026)

Launch sites

  • Arnhem Space CentreEquatorial Launch Australia · Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory · orbital planned · since 2022
  • Whalers Way Orbital Launch ComplexSouthern Launch · Eyre Peninsula, South Australia · orbital planned · since 2021
  • Koonibba Test RangeSouthern Launch / Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation · Koonibba, South Australia · suborbital · since 2020
  • Woomera Range ComplexRoyal Australian Air Force / Defence Science and Technology Group · Woomera, South Australia · suborbital · since 1947

Source: National launch site roster · ALL IN SPACE compilation

Astronauts

  • Paul Scully-PowerNASA (USN) · first flight 1984 · First Australian-born person in space (payload specialist)
  • Andy ThomasNASA · first flight 1996 · Australian-born; later U.S. citizen
  • Katherine Bennell-PeggASA / ESA · first flight 2024 · First Australian to train under the Australian Space Agency flag (2024); not yet flown

Source: Astronaut biographies

Milestones

  • 1947First orbital launch from national soil
  • 1984First national in space
  • 2018Australian Space Agency (ASA) established

Notable missions and contributions

  • Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (NASA partner)
  • Optus civilian/military satellites
  • Square Kilometre Array (SKA-Low) co-host
  • Roo-ver lunar rover (ELO2 Consortium, ~$42M): Australia's first Moon rover, confirmed in 2025 for delivery under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services aboard the CT-4 spacecraft, with landing planned toward the end of the decade
  • Gilmour Space Eris TestFlight1 (July 2025): Australia's first sovereign orbital launch attempt, from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport (Queensland), Australia's first licensed orbital launch facility; the hybrid-propulsion Eris rocket lifted off but failed ~14 seconds after liftoff (second attempt planned for 2026)